Press Release: DC Public Library Offers Unlimited Copies of eBooks on Race and Privilege

News Release — DC Public Library

For Immediate Release

June 4, 2020

Media Contacts: George Williams

DC Public Library Offers Unlimited Copies of eBooks on Race and Privilege
(Washington, DC) – In the letter from the Birmingham jail, Dr. King said “there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.” In response to recent events, the DC Public Library seeks to create constructive tension to help people talk, and learn, about racism.

The Library has made available unlimited ebook copies of “Why We Can’t Wait” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Our Movement” by Charlene Carruthers, “Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor,” by Layla F. Saad and “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.

“As we prepare to reopen our central library that will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and continue to champion the values he advocated, DC Public Library is seeking to help residents better understand racism in its less obvious but no less damaging forms,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of the DC Public Library. “Real change can occur only when we are honest about the ways our behaviors and beliefs support racism in our society.”

The unlimited copies of these titles are offered to meet increased demand. In the last week of May, the number of requests to borrow ebooks and audiobooks about race increased tenfold. These and other titles have been curated into a Black Lives Matter reading list. Reading lists have also been developed for talking to children and for talking with teens about race. The entire list of recommended reading can be found at https://www.dclibrary.org/node/67175

In “Why We Can’t Wait” Dr. King expands the ideas in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail further examining the history of the civil rights struggle and outlining what future generations must do to bring about full equality.

“Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Our Movement” draws on Black intellectual and grassroots organizing traditions, including the Haitian Revolution, the US civil rights movement, and LGBTQ rights and feminist movements to challenge those in the social justice struggle to make the movement for Black liberation more radical, more queer, and more feminist.

“Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor” is based on a Instagram challenge. In it the author takes readers on a 28-day journey of how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color.

“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” examines how defensive moves white people make when challenged racially, protects racial inequality and how we can engage meaningfully.

The Library is also inviting teens to share their thoughts on current events through the “Know your Power” contest. Organized with the DC Public Library Foundation and Pepco, the contest asks teens to use writing, photography, illustration and music as a powerful tool to address some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Visit https://www.dclibrary.org/knowyourpower  to learn more.

In the coming days, the Library plans to announce community conversations, and other events that help promote thoughtful dialogue and racial healing.

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